Drilling apparatus



April 22, 1952 H.r H. vANDERzl-:E

DRILLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed NOV. 29, 1943Harywzeg .lull

lllllll li April 22, 1952 H. H. VANDERZEE DRILLING APPARATUS 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Nov. 29, 1943 l Eff/A lvenbr.

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Patented Apr. 22, 1952 DRILLING APPARATUS Harry H. Vanderzee, Chicago,Ill., assignor to Joy Manufacturing Company, a corporation ofPennsylvania Original application November 29, 1943, Serial No. 512,131.Divided and this application March 7, 1946, Serial No. 652,729

11 Claims. 1`

This invention relates to drilling apparatus and more particularly to animproved rotary drilling apparatus of the portable type especiallydesigned for use in drilling shallow holes in relatively soft formationssuch as are encountered in quarry or seismograph work.

In the drilling of such formations, there is usually encountered avarying resistance to rotation of the drilling implement, making itdesirable that some means be provided for regulating the rate of feed inresponse to the changes in resistance to rotation. To obtain suchregulation of feed, there may be provided a. feeding means including afluid actuated motor to which an actuating fluid is supplied in varyingamounts depending upon the pressure at the intake side of a fluidactuated motor which operates to rotate the drilling implement. Theregulation of the fluid supply to the feeding motor may be obtained in apreferred form of the invention by providing a pressure responsive valvemechanism which operates to vent fluid from the supply side of thefeeding motor in increasing amounts as the pressure at the intake sideof the rotating motor increases above a predetermined value.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved drilling apparatushaving feeding and rotating motors of the rotary fluidA actuated typeand having associated therewith improved automatic control means forregulating the feeding motor automatically in accordance with changes inload on the drill rotating motor. Another object is to provide animproved fluid operated control means for a rotary drilling apparatus,whereby the feed is automatically regulated in accordance with therequirements of the work. Yet another object is to provide an improvedmeans which operates in response to the pressure in the intake side of afluid actuated drill rotating motor for regulating the supply ofoperating fluid to a fluid actuated drill feeding motor. Other objectsand advantages of the invention will, however, hereinafter more fullyappear.

This application is a division of my pending application, Serial No.512,131, filed November 29, 1943, now abandoned.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown an illustrative embodimentwhich the invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a drilling apparatus constructedin accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the drilling apparatus shown inFig. 1l.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal cross sectional view, with parts inplan, taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially online 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken substantially online 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View taken 'Substantially on line 6-6 ofFig. 1, illustrating details of the improved feeding mechanism.

Fig. 7 isv a diagrammatic View of the hydraulic system.

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view taken through the automatic controlvalve.

In this illustrative construction there is shown a portable drillingapparatus especially designed for use in drilling shallow holes inrelatively soft formations such as are encountered in quarry orseismograph Work. It Will be evident, however, that various features ofthe invention will be embodied in drilling apparatus of other types.

The drilling apparatus, as illustrated, comprises a portable base Iherein illustrated as an automobile truck having mounted on its platform2 a vertical support, herein a derrick mast 3. Also mounted on the truckplatform is a mud pump 4 driven through a conventional power take-olf 5from the engine of the truck. Driven through this same power take-off isa dualcapacity liquid pump generally designated 6; and there is provideda conventional variable speed or selective transmission 1 for drivingthe pump at different speeds. The upright derrick mast 3 carriesparallel vertical guides d, 8 having vertical guideways along whichsliding end blocks of a crosshead 9 are slidable. Guided by chainsprockets I0` and II respectively at the top and bottom of the crossheadguides at the opposite sides of the derrick mast are feed chains I2 andI3 attached to the sliding crosshead. In this improved construction,there is provided a Vreversible hydraulic motor I4 of a well knowndesign mounted on a vertical side plate I5 of the truck platform, andthe power shaft of this motor is connected by chain and sprocket drivesI6 to tubular transverse shafts I1, one at each side of the truckplatform and to which the bottom chain sprockets II are respectivelysecured. Thus by operating the motor I4 the crosshead may be moved upand down along the mast -guideways as desired.

A drill head I8 is swiveled by trunnions I9l on the end blocks of thecrosshead for a purpose to be later explained. The drill head I8 hasjournaled therein a drive sleeve or quill 2U coupled .a usual drill bit.

Vual control valves.

at 2I to a drill rod line 22, the latter carrying Mounted on the top ofthe drill head I8 is a reversible hydraulic motor 23 similar to the feedmotor I4. The power shaft of the motor 23 has keyed thereto a spurpinion 24 meshing with a spur gear 25 fixed to a vertical shaft 26, thelatter suitably journaled within the drill head. Driven by the shaft 26is a spur gear 21 meshing with a spur gear 28 keyed to the drive sleeve20, as shown in Fig. fl. Mounted at the top of the drill head is a fluidswivel 29 having a supply conduit 39 extending downwardly through apacking 3l into the bore 32 of the drive sleeve 2U. Thus the drill rodline may be rotated in either of opposite directions by the motor 23.

The motors I4 and 23 may be of the conventional intermeshing, rotary,variable speed type l and may be regulated to vary the speeds ofrotation and feed. Speeds may be controlled by variable throttling, and,moreover, by the provision .of the variable speed drive for the pump,the

volume of liquid under pressure supplied to the motors may be varied, ifdesired, to vary the motor speeds. Liquid under pressure may be suppliedfrom the mud pump to the fluid swivel 2 9 through a usual flexible hoseconnection 33.

Now referring to the improved hydraulic system shown diagrammatically inFig. '7, it will be observed that the dual capacity pump' has a lowcapacity unit 35 and a high capacity unit 36, and the pump intakes areconnected through branch conduits 3l and 38 to a conduit 39 leading to aliquid tank 40. The pump discharges are connected by conduits 4I and 42to the pressure chamber of a valve box 43 conveniently 1ocated on thetruck platform and containing us- 'I'he exhaust chamber of the valve boxis connected by a discharge conduit 44 back to the tank. The pumpdischarge conduits 4I and 42 have conventional pressure relief valves 45and 46 respectively set to open at a predetermined pressure andconnected by a conduit 4'I to the tank. The feed motor I4 has supply anddischarge conduits 4S and 49 connected to the valve box, and therotation motor 23 has similar conduits u and 5I, although the latter areflexible to permit movement of the motor with the drill head. Thecontrol valves in the valve box may control the iiow of fluid to thefeed and rotation motors, from the small and large capacity pumpsrespectively. The relative volumes of the flow of fluid to the feed androtation motors may be determined as desired, but herein the fluid tothe rotation motor is preferably from the high capacity pump and that tothe feed motor from the low capacity pump. The conduit 50 which suppliesuid under pressure to the rotating motor 23 during drilling may beconnected by a conduit 52 to an automatic control valve 53 (see Fig. 8).Under certain conditions, however, this automatic control valve may beomitted, and at that time the fed and rotation may be manuallycontrolled. This automatic control valve has a casing 54 provided with abore 55 containing a reciprocable valve operating piston 56. This pistonis secured by a reduced stem 51 to a hollow valve 58, likewise containedin the casing bore. The conduit 4B which supplies fluid to the feedmotor I4 to effect downward feed is connected by a conduit 59 to apassage 60 communicating with the valve bore 55. A passage 6Icommunicating with the valve bore is connected by a conduit 62 to theliquid tank, and an adjustable coil spring B3 having an adjusting screw64 constantly urges the valve toward the position wherein the passages69 and 6I are out of communication. When the load on the drill rotatingmotor 23 varies, i. e. when Vthe resistance to cutting of the work bythe drill bit varies, the pressure in the conduit 59 correspondinglyvaries, and upon increase in pressure in the drill rotating motor supplyline above a predetermined level due to increased resistance to drillbit rotation above a desired point, the fluid acts on the valveoperating piston 56 with such force as to move the valve 58 upwardly, asviewed in Fig. 8, thereby to connect passage GEI with the dischargepassage 6I, and, as a result, pressure in the supply conduit 48 for thefeeding motor I4 is reduced, with a resultant reduction in the feedingpressure on the drill bit. Thus the mechanical feed is automaticallycontrolled by the varying resistance to rotation of the drill bit, sothat a substantially constant torque is applied to the bit, increasingthe efficiency of the drill.

The mode of operation of the improved apparatus will be clearly apparentfrom the description given. The portable base of the apparatus may bepropelled from one working place to another by the usual truck wheeldrive through the usual automobile transmission. The drill head I8 isswiveled on its trunnions I9 on the end blocks of the sliding crosshead9 so as to facilitate attachment of the rod line to the drive quill. iscoupled to the drive quill, the feed motor I4 may be operated to actuatethe feed chains I2 and I3 to raise the crosshead 9 upwardly along themast guides 8, 8 and the drill head is at that time swung into itsupright position with respect to the crosshead. The truck platform maycarry a suitable guide for the rod line for guiding the drill bit duringstarting of a hole in a well known manner, although under certainconditions such a starting guide is unnecessary. The drill rotatingmotor 23 carried by the crosshead 9 may then be started to rotate therod line in the proper direction, thereby to rotate rapidly the drillbit. The feed motor I4 may then be reversed to actuate the feed chainsI2 and I3 to effect downward movement of the crosshead along the mastguides to feed the drill bit toward the work to effect drilling. As theresistance to drill bit rotation varies during penetration of formationshaving different characteristics, the position of the automatic by-passvalve 58 is changed to vary the uid supply to the drill feeding motorI4. Thus the load changes on the drill bit during drilling automaticallyeffect regulation of the feeding pressure on the drill bit. Duringuncoupling of the rod line sections, the rotation motor 23 may bereversed to unthread the joints.

As a result of this invention an improved portable drilling apparatus isprovided especially designed for drilling shallow holes in relativelysoft formations such as are encountered in quarry or seismograph work.It will also be evident that by the provision of the separate motors forrotating and feeding the drill bit the drill is made more flexible inoperation, and at the same time the structure is greatly simplied.Further by the provision of the reversible motors, the feed and rotationmay be readily reversed, thereby eliminating relatively complicatedreverse drive connections. The vari-able speed fluid motors enable awide range of feeding and rotating speeds to be obtained as desired; andwhen the improved automatic control valve is provided, there'is en- Whena rod section carrying a drill bitl l abled control of the feedautomatically in accordance `with the varying resistance `to drill bitrotation while the power of rotation remains substantially constant.These and .other `advantages of the improved drilling apparatus will beclearly apparent ,to those skilled in the art.

While there is in this application specifically described one embodiment`which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood thatthis embodiment of the'same is shown for purposes of illustration .andthat the invention may be modified and embodied in various other forms`without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim `as new and desire to `secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a drilling apparatus, `feeding mechanism for positively feeding a:drill toward the work including a rotary fluid operated feeding motorand connections operated by said motor for applying a substantiallycontinuous forward feeding pressure on the drill during drilling, drillrotating mechanism including a rotary fluid operated rotation motorwhich is subjected to load changes during drilling, means for supplyingfluid under pressure to said motors, and means including a fluida-ctuated control valve responsive to pressure changes in said supplymeans of said rotation motor due to load changes on said latter motorfor automatically regulating the flow of fluid in said supply means ofsaid feeding motor to vary the forward feeding pressure on the drill.

2. In a drilling apparatus, feeding mechanism for positively feeding adrill toward the work including a rotary fluid operated feeding motorand connections operated by said motor for applying a substantiallycontinuous forward feeding pressure on the drill during drilling, drillrotating mechanism including a rotary fluid operated rotation motorwhich is subjected to load changes during drilling, means for supplyingfluid under pressure to said motors, and means including a fluidactuated control valve responsive to pressure changes in said supplymeans of said rotation motor due to load changes on said rotation motorfor automatically reducing the flow of fluid in said supply means ofsaid feeding motor to vary the forward feeding pressure on the drill.

3. In a drilling apparatus, feeding mechanism for positively feeding adrill toward the work including a rotary fluid operated feeding motorand connections operated by said motor for applying a substantiallycontinuous forward feeding pressure on the drill during drilling, drillrotating mechanism including a rotary fluid operated rotation motor,means for supplying fluid under pressure to said motors, and means forautomatically regulating the flow of fluid in said supply means of saidfeeding motor to vary the forward feeding pressure including a fluidactuated bypass valve responsive to pressure changes in said rotationmotor supply means for bypassing fluid from said supply means of saidfeeding motor.

- 4. In a drilling apparatus, feeding mechanism for positively feeding adrill toward the work including a rotary fluid operated feeding motorand connections operated by said motor for applying a substantiallycontinuous forward feeding pressure on the drill during drilling, drillrotating mechanism including a rotary fluid operated rotation motor,means for supplying fluid under pressure to said motors, and means forauf6 llfvzm'iatically regulating the flow of fluid in `said supply meansof said feeding motor to vary fthe forward feeding pressure including afluid actuated bypass valve for bypassing fluid from :said supply `meansof said feeding motor when the pressure in said supply means of `saidrotation motor exceeds a predetermined amount.

`5. In a drilling apparatus, mechanism for-.positively `feeding a `drilltoward the work during drilling including a fluid operated feeding motorand connections operated `by said motor for applying a forward feedingpressure to the drill, mechanism for rotating the drill including afluid operated rotation `motor which is subjected `to load changesduring drilling, a pumping means. fluid supply means `including acontrol valve mechanism for conducting fluid from said pumping means tosaid motors, and regulating means automatically responsive to loadchanges on said rotation motor to vary the flow of fluid to said feedingmotor, said regulating means including fluid actuated control valvemeans responsive to pressure conditions in said supply means `of saidrotation motor for regulating the flow of fluid in said `supply means ofsaid feeding motor.

6. Ina drilling apparatus, mechanism for positively `feeding a drilltoward the work during drilling including a fluid operated feeding motorand connections operated by said motor for kapplying a forward feedingpressure `to the drill, mechanism for rotating the drill including afluid operated rotation motor which is subjected to load changes duringdrilling, a pumping means, fluid supply lmeans including a control valvemechanism for conducting fluid from said pumping means to said motors,and regulating means automatically responsive to load changes on saidrotation motor to vary the flow of fluid to said feeding motor to varythe feeding pressure on the drill, said regulating means including fluidactuated bypass valve means responsive to pressure conditions in saidsupply means of said rotation motor for reducing the flow of fluid insaid supply means of said feeding motor.

7 In a drilling apparatus, mechanism for positively feeding a drilltoward the work during drilling including a fluid operated feeding motorand connections operated by said motor for applying a forward feedingpressure to the drill, mechanism for rotating the drill including a`fluid operated rotation motor which is subjected to load changes duringdrilling, a fluid reservoir, a pumping means having its intake connectedto said fluid reservoir, fluid supply means including a control valvemechanism for conducting fluid from said pumping means to said motors,and regulating means automatically responsive to load changes on saidrotation motor for varying the flow of fluid to said feeding motor 'tovary the feeding pressure on the drill, said regulating means includingfluid actuated control valve means responsive to pressure conditions insaid supply means of said rotation motor for connecting said fluidsupply means of said feeding motor back to said reservoir to reduce theflow of fluid to said feeding motor.

8. In a drilling apparatus, drill feeding mechanism for positivelyfeeding a drill toward the work during drilling including a rotary fluidpressure drill feeding motor and connections operated by said motor forapplying a forward feeding pressure to the drill, drill rotatingmechanism including a rotary fluid pressure drill rotating motor, afluid reservoir, pumping means including a high capacity pump and a lowcapacity pump, means for connecting the pump intakes to said reservoir,means for conducting fluid from the discharge of said high capacity pumpto the intake of said rotating motor, means for conducting fluid fromthe discharge of said low capacity pump to. the intake of said feedingmotor, means for connecting the dis,- charge sides of said motors backto said reservoir, and operator controlled valve means for controllingthe flow of fluid from said pumps through said conducting means to saidmotors.

9. In a drilling apparatus, a base, an upright frame on said base, acrosshead slidable vertically along said frame, feeding connections onsaid frame and operatively'connected to said crosshead for feeding thelatter along said frame, a drill rotating element journaled Within saidcrosshead, a motor on said crosshead having a rotary driving element forrotating said drill rotating element, a fluid pressure motor on saidframe having a rotating driving element `for actuating said feedingconnections for moving said crosshead to effect positive forward feed ofthe drill, and dual pumping means on said base for concurrentlysupplying a relatively large volume of fluid under pressure to saiddrill rotating rnctor and a relatively small volume of uid underpressure to said feeding motor.

10. In a drilling apparatus, a frame on said base, a crosshead slidablelongitudinally along said frame, a drill rotating element journalecl insaid crosshead, feeding connections on said frame and operativelyconnected to said crosshead, a rotary fluid pressure motor mounted onsaid crosshead for driving said drill rotating element, a rotary uidpressure motor mounted on said base for actuating said feedingconnections to effect feeding movement of said crosshead to apply apositive forward feeding pressure to the drill, and dual pumping meanson said base for concurrently supplying a relatively large volume offluid under pressure to said drill rotating motor and a relatively smallvolume of fluid under pressure to said feeding motor.

11. In a drill apparatus, the combination comprising a high speedhydraulic motor for rotating a drilling implement, a low speed hydraulicmotor, connections operated by said`low speed motor for positivelyfeeding the drilling implement toward the Work, pumping means includinga loW capacity pump and a high capacity pump, and operator controlledcontrol valve means for concurrently connecting said low capacity pumpto said feeding motor and said high capacity pump to said rotatingmotor.

HARRY H. VANDERZEE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,798,797 Jones et al Mar. 31,1931 1,883,013 Shinn Oct. 18, 1932 2,168,655 Rose Aug. 8, 1939 2,265,987Anderson et al Dec. 16, 1941 2,410,959 Brown Nov. 12, 1946

